College Search--Schools for Creative Writing/English?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello all, I’m Katie!
I live in southern VA and am looking for colleges relatively close to home.
I applied ED for William & Mary and was deferred, so I am in great need for other schools to apply to! I like W&M because of it’s size, the beautiful scenery, and the academic focus is strong.
I would like to major in English or Creative Writing–I’m thinking of being a teacher or getting into editing/publishing (as I love to write and would like to be an author some day) but I am also interested in many sciences and other subjects.
UNCW is high on my list–so if you have any suggestions like UNCW or W&M that’d be great!
Preferably somewhere easier to get into than W&M

SAT is 2000 (R: 630, M: 680; W: 690-- though I could take it again since College Board messed up my scores), GPA 4.3

OVERALL: Great English program!; Open/geared to geeky/artsy crowd; Maryland, VA, or NC (or I guess Delaware if needed); Medium-Small size; NOT PREPPY (I’m a very casual person–as in jeans and a t-shirt) OR a major party school; and affordable.

Thank you for your suggestions!

2

Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA.

3

Have you considered Kenyon College?
It has a beautiful campus and strong English department.
Average entering SAT scores are slightly lower than W&M’s.
Sticker prices are high but financial aid seems to be pretty good.
The application deadline is January 15.

Most of the Colleges That Change Lives are less selective than W&M or Kenyon.
Some of them must have later application deadlines.
http://ctcl.org/

4

Warren-Wilson. The creative writing department is well regarded. http://inside.warren-wilson.edu/~creativewriting/

5

Hollins sounds like it would be a good fit. It’s in VA, is a small school, artsy/quirky, has a strong English program, and you could get in.

6

Well, the University of Virginia is also great for creative writing, but it’s not easier to get into than William and Mary!

However, Virginia Tech IS easier to get into and they have an excellent department of creative writing, with a top-ranked MFA program. http://www.undergraduate.english.vt.edu/majors/cw/index.html]They have a major in creative writing for undergraduates, too.

George Mason University has [one of only 30 BFAs in creative writing](Creative Writing | Programs: BFA in Creative Writing) in the country. You can concentrate in either fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. If a BFA is too intense, they also have a creative writing concentration as part of their BA in English. They also have a college of education, in which you can earn initial licensure to teach secondary (high school) English - and they have [accelerated combined BA/M.Ed programs as well](https://cehd.gmu.edu/bachelors-accelerated-masters-program/academics/english) that you can do with either the BA in English or the BFA in creative writing.

Virginia Commonwealth also has an excellent program in creative writing. Their BA in English [has a concentration in writing](https://english.vcu.edu/ba/major-requirements-2/), and they have an MFA program in creative writing which may mean access to graduate classes in the field.

James Madison has a [cross-disciplinary minor in creative writing](http://www.jmu.edu/catalog/12/programs/crossdisciplinary/creativewriting.html), a pretty robust English department, and a [pre-professional education program](http://www.jmu.edu/catalog/14/academic-units/msse.shtml#SecondaryEducation) that leads to a one-year MAT and licensure in secondary education. (You can’t get it at the BA level at JMU; you have to earn the MAT, but I think it is one additional year after the BA.)

Christopher Newport University has an English BA with a concentration in writing. They also have a five-year teacher preparation program that ends in a MAT (master’s of arts in teaching).

And the University of Mary Washington has a creative writing concentration in their English major. They have a [url=<a href=“http://cas.umw.edu/elc/english-at-umw/especially-for-creative-writers/%5Dwebsite%5B/url”>http://cas.umw.edu/elc/english-at-umw/especially-for-creative-writers/]website[/url] about the opportunities in creative writing at their university and beyond. They also have a five-year MAT program that leads to initial licensure to teach English on the high school level in VA.

So a rack of excellent public universities in VA that offer a great education, a chance to concentrate in creative writing and are relatively low cost! UMW and CNU are similar in size to W&M.

There are also a bunch of idyllic small LACs in VA at which you can pursue creative writing as a major or minor, including Mary Baldwin College, Lynchburg College, and Randolph College (you can get a BFA in creative writing here, too).

In NC, in addition to UNCW and Warren Wilson, there’s also NCSU, UNCG and Salem College. If you want to go to South Carolina, there’s USC and Wofford College. In Maryland, UMD has a creative writing minor.

7

Thank you for all of those suggestions! Lots of research material. Do you happen to know much about St. Mary’s College in Maryland?

8

I think it is a hidden gem. Sort of a summer camp feeling. :slight_smile:

9

-Lynchburg College
-Randolph College
-Washington College

For English, but not creative writing, I’d also recommend: Meredith College, McDaniel College, Notre Dame of Maryland, & UNC Greensboro

10

Sorry you were deferred. I know how that goes. My DS applied ED to W&M last year and was deferred. Retook the SAT and raised his scores but was ultimately rejected. I think in the end he was relieved because during all that he attended several special events at Christopher Newport and loved it there. He is a freshman at CNU this year. CNU is just a little smaller than W&M, obviously newer, not too preppy - I find the kids there to be accepting, friendly, and involved. Not a big party school, but plenty to do on weekends. My son has quickly made a tight group of friends and gotten involved in several activities. It’s becoming more competitive to get in, expects to receive over 8,000 applicants this year and my sons incoming class had the third highest GPA of all incoming freshman classes for all Virginia public colleges and universities this year! So you’d be there with other smart kids. I think with your scores you would want to apply for the honors program.

11

Thank you for your comment, that makes me feel loads better! I’ve actually heard some of CNU so I’ll definitely be looking into it :slight_smile:

12

Feel free to send me a message or ask me on this thread if you have any questions about CNU. Best of luck to you!

13

Top schools a bit easier to get into than W&M with outstanding writing and financial aid: Kenyon, Hamilton.
Excellent programs where you’d have to demonstrate interest but good matches for your stats: Sewanee, Knox, Eckerd.

14

I was about to suggest UNCW, but saw that you already have it high on your list. Easily the best school for creative writing/English in the state. Smart girl :wink:

Ask me any questions you have: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-north-carolina-wilmington/1827864-ask-a-current-uncw-student.html#latest

15

If you are looking at Kenyon and similar liberal arts colleges, you should definitely check out Denison. Excellent creative writing program - classes are easy to get into, great faculty, reading series, new push on internships. Beautiful campus!

16

Another small liberal arts college with an excellent creative writing program is Bryn Mawr College (suburban Philadelphia). If you are OK with an all-women’s college, it’s definitely an option. Plus, you can also take courses at Haverford, which is within walking distance (although there is a bus that goes between Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore). All three are part of the tri-co so you could take courses at any of the three schools. Here’s a link to the program at BMC.

http://www.brynmawr.edu/creativewriting/

17

I’m a Denison grad, and the writing program is terrific! If you’re looking at Kenyon, definitely check it out. I was planning on going to Kenyon, but decided on Denison at the last moment because the professors I talked to were so great and Denison gave me a phenomenal scholarship lol. They give out tons of money, something like 98% of students receive a scholarship. It’s also much easier to get into, something like a 45% acceptance rate instead of the 25% at Kenyon

18

I agree that Denison would be a great place to go. My sister is an intended creative writing major there and she loves it. She has had many opportunities to write such as the Denisonian (school newspaper) and many internship opportunities. (And she agrees with the dislike of the preppy feel; her interviewer actually went to Denison over a school in Virginia because he thought the Virginian school was too preppy.)

19

I’m curious where you ended up deciding to attend. My daughter is looking at creative writing programs and she will apply next fall. We visited Kenyon and Denison and she loved them both. I was surprised by how much she loved Denison actually because I expected her to have a strong preference for Kenyon given her focus on writing. She went to two classes at Denison and loved the faculty and students. She is not a sorority girl at all but after talking to several people she felt like the atmosphere was fine for someone who didn’t want to go that route.

She just attended a session for Bryn Mawr at a college fair and is very interested in looking there as well. She has pretty good stats because she comes from a top private school in DC with a 3.5 unweighted GPA and 35 ACT in both English and Reading (her math/science is lower but her overall is in the 30’s). Any other insight from those who have been there would be much appreciated.

Good luck to OP.

20

My D attended Denison as an English major (and her three suitemates were also English majors). They all enjoyed the school and teachers a great deal. None were in sororities. With those stats your D should get some good merit aid.